Glass lid for refrigerated merchandising cabinet



April 29, 1969 ALLGEYER ET AL 3,440,767

GLASS LID FOR REFRIGERATED MERCHANDISING CABINET Filed Oct. 20, 1966 sheet or2 April 29, 1969 D. F. ALLGEYER ET AL 3,440,767

GLASS LID FOR REFRIGERATED MERCHANDISING CABINET Filed Oct. 20, 1966 Sheet 3 of 2 United States Patent US. Cl. 49-404 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sliding glass lid for the top of a refrigerated meichandising cabinet. The ends of the lid slide in tracks at the top of the cabinet, the tracks being located above the top of the front of the cabinet. The lid has an extruded plastic front trim strip and a rear trim strip. The front trim strip is a dual durometer extrusion having a channel section receiving the glass, a handle, and a downwardly extending rigid sealing flange integrally joined to the channel section by a flexible hinge connection. This flange is engageable with the front of the cabinet on the inside thereof when the lid is closed to seal off the interior of the cabinet, and may be swung to a position clearing the top of the front of the cabinet to enable the lid to be slid forward out of the tracks. The rear trim strip is also a dual durometer extrusion and has a sealing flange. The lid has heating wires incorporated therein, and terminals for these wires extending from the rear.

This invention relates to a glass lid for refrigerated merchandising cabinets and, more particularly, to a lid of this class having trim strips at the front and rear edge margins of the lid.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of a glass lid for refrigerated merchandising cabinets having improved trim strips for the front and rear edges of the lid; the provision of an improved front trim strip for such a lid which provides a handle for sliding the lid, a seal for the front of the lid when the lid is closed, and which is constructed so as to avoid injury to the hand if the hand should be caught between the lid and the cabinet when the lid is closed; the provision of a rear trim strip for such a lid which provides a seal against the entry of insects into the cabinet when the lid is closed; and the provision of trim strips such as described which are self-securing to the lid without the necessity for use of separate fasteners.

In accordance with the invention, the lid is for the top of a refrigerated merchandising cabinet having tracks in which the ends of the lid are slidably mounted for sliding movement of the lid from a forward closed position to a rearward open position. The tracks are located above the top of the front of the cabinet. The lid comprises a rectangular pane of glass having a front trim strip along its forward edge and a rear trim strip along its rearward edge. The front trim strip is an extruded plastic strip of such cross section as to have a channel section having a web and flanges, ribs extending longitudinally of the front trim strip on the inside of the flanges of the channel section, a flange extending upward from the top of the channel section cons ituting a handle for engagement by the hand to slide the lid rearwardly to open i and a flange extending downward from the bottom of the channel section constituting a sealing flange for engagement with the front of the cabinet on the inside thereof when the lid is closed to seal off the interior of the cabinet. The sealing flange has an integral hinge connection with the channel section. The front trim strip is a dual durometer extrusion wherein the channel section, handle and sealing flange are relatively rigid and the ribs and the hinge connection are relatively soft and flexible. The channel section receives the front edge of the pane, and the ribs are flattened over and compressed to retain the front trim strip on the pane. The sealing flange is adapted to be swung forwardly about the flexible hinge connection to a position clearing the top of the front of the cabinet to enable the lid to be slid forward out of the tracks for removal of the lid from the cabinet, and has a portion engageable with the channel when the sealing flange is in sealing engagement with the front of the cabinet to limit rearward swing of the sealing flange. Another aspect of the invention is that the lid, having front and rear trim strips with portions for sea-ling the cabinet when the lid is closed, has electrical heating means incorporated therein, a pair of terminals for the hea ing means, both terminals of the pair extending from the rear of the lid, and a cord connected to the terminals. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section, broken away to reduce the width of the view, showing a lid of this invention in a refrigerated merchandising cabinet;

FIG. 2 is a plan of the lid per se, similarly broken away;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section of the front trim strip removed from the glass;

FIG. 4 is a section on a smaller scale taken on line 44- of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 is a view showing a modified version of the front trim strip.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, a lid of this invention is shown to comprise a generally rectangular pane 1 of safety glass having along its forward edge a front trim strip generally designated 3 and along its rearward edge a rear trim strip generally designated 5. Both trim strips are preferably one-piece vinyl plastic extrusions. The lid slides forwardly and rearwardly in tracks 7 (FIGS. 1 and 4) formed by plastic channels in the ends of the cabinet. Tracks 7, as shown, are inclined downwardly from the rear to the front of the cabinet so that the lid is gravity-biased toward the closed position shown in FIG. 1. When the lid is closed, a flange 9 depending from the front trim strip 3 engages a raill 11 along the top of the front of the cabinet to seal off the interior of the cabinet. The tracks are located above this rail 11.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the cross-sectional shape of the front trim stri 3 comprises a generally channelshaped section 13 having a web 15 and spaced upper and lower flanges 17 and 19, respectively, projecting outwardly away from the web in generally parallel planes. The web and flanges are rigid. A plurality of resilient flexible ribs 21 extend longitudinally of the trim'strip along the inside faces of flanges 17 and 19. With these ribs 21 being flexible, the trim strip 3 can be secured to pane 1 simply by inserting the glass pane into the space between flanges 17 and 19. As this is done, the ribs 21 are bent rearwardly from the FIG. 3 position and are compressed beween the upper and lower surfaces of the pane and the flanges 17 and 19. The compressed ribs frictionally grip the pane to oppose removal of the front trim strip from the pane and they eliminate the need for other fasteners or framing around the pane as is required in conventional lid assemblies.

A flange 23 extends upwardly from the top of the channel section 13 in extension of the web 15. A lip 25 at the top of flange 23 projects over flange 17 and is spaced therefrom. A flat surface 27 at the front of the trim strip extends from the top of flange 23 to the bottom of web 15. This surface is engaged by the hand for pushing the lid rearwardly in the cabinet. The lip 25 and flange 2-3 are gripped by the fingers of the hand to pull the lid forwardly in the cabinet.

The sealing flange 9 is hinged to the lower surface of flange 19 by a relatively soft flexible web 29 which is integral with both the flange 19 and the flange 9. Flange 9 and web 29 extend the full length of the front trim strip. Hinge 29 permits swinging movement of the flange 9 from the FIG. 1 position through the FIG. 3 position to a position Where the front surface 31 of the flange lies along the lower surface of flange 19 and the flange 9 is clear of the rail 11 so that the lid can be slid out of the tracks 7 and removed from the cabinet without interference between the flange 9 and the rail 11. Flange 9 has an abutment 33 which engages the lower surface of flange 19 rearwardly of hinge 29 as shown in FIG. 1 to limit counter-clockwise swinging movement of flange 9 relative to flange 19, thereby assuring a tight fit between the surface 31 and rail 11 when the lid is closed.

A relatively soft bumper or finger 35 projects downwardly from flange 19 near the front edge of the trim strip. The bumper extends the full length of the front trim strip. Bumper 35 is of shallow depth in relation to the sealing flange 9 so that it clears the top of rail 11 on the front wall of the cabinet. Bumper 35 avoids injury to the hand of a person if the hand should be caught between the lid and the rail 11 when the lid is being closed.

The front trim strip 3 is extruded so that the channel section 13, the handle formed by the flange 23 and lip 25, and the sealing flange 9 are of relatively high durometer and relatively rigid, while the ribs 21, the hinge 29 at the juncture of flange 9 and flange 19, and the bumper 35 have a low durometer and are relatively soft, resilient and flexible. The trim strip can be integrally formed with such sections of different durometer by a known extruding process.

The rear trim strip is an extruded dual durometer strip having a cross-sectional configuration best illustrated in FIG. 1. It includes a rigid channel section 37 comprising spaced upper and lower flanges 39 and 41, respectively, joined by a web 43. The front edge of the upper flange 39 has a lip 45 which bears against the upper surface of the glass pane 1. The rear trim strip 5 is held in place on the rear edge margin of the pane by a plurality of integrally extruded soft. resilient flexible ribs 47 on the inner faces of flanges 39 and 41 which are bent rearwardly and compressed between the upper and lower surfaces of the pane and the flanges 39 and 41 when the strip is forced over the rear margin of the pane. The ribs 47 are similar to the ribs 21 previously described and they extend the full length of the rear trim strip. These ribs permit mounting of the rear trim strip 5 on the pane 1 without the need for supplementary fastening means or a border or frame around the glass pane.

At the rear of the trim strip 5 and projecting rearwardly from the center of web 43 there is an integrally extruded rigid flange 49. Lead wires for electrically heating panel 1 are anchored to flange 49 as explained later.

An integrally extruded rigid sealing flange 51 projects upwardly from the top of flange 39 and extends along the rear trim strip from one end portion thereof to the other end portion. The upper edge of flange 51 is in close proximity to the lower edge of a wall 53 of the cabinet when the lid is closed, so as to minimize air movement and entry of insects. At the same time, the flange 51 does not interfere with mounting or removal of the lid in the cabinet. An integrally extruded soft, resilient flexible flange 55 depending from flange 41 is located closely adjacent a flange 57 on the rear wall of the cabinet to seal the interior of the cabinet when the lid is closed.

The rear trim strip 5 is preferably extruded by the extruding process mentioned before. The channel section 37 and flanges 49, 51 and 55 are of relatively high durometer and relatively rigid while the ribs 47 are of lower durometer and relatively soft, resilient and flexible so that they can be deflected and compressed between the pane 1 and the channel section 37.

The glass pane 1 preferably contains a plurality of spaced and generally parallel electrically conductive heating wires 59 (FIG. 2) for heating the lid for preventing moisture condensation and loss of visibility through the lid. These wires extend from the front margin of the pane to the rear margin of the pane. Electric current is supplied to wires 59 via a pair of terminals 61 projecting from the rear edge of the pane through a hole in the rear trim strip. Wires 63 of a cord 65 are soldered to the terminals 61. Since the lid is moved rearwardly and forwardly in the cabinet, it is desirable to relieve the soldered connection between wires 63 and terminals 61 of strain resulting from pulling on the cord 65. This is accomplished by passing the wires 63 through holes 67 in flange 49 from the top to the bottom of the lid and then passing them back through flange 49 from the bottom to the top of the lid. Then the cord is clamped on the rear trim strip as indicated at 69.

The lid of this invention is easily assembled from a glass pane and front and rear trim strips 3 and 5 simply by placing the trim strips over the panel 1 with the channel-shaped section of each trim strip straddling the front and rear margins of the pane. No additional fastening means are required to hold the trim strips in place. When the lid is in the closed position, the sealing flanges 9, 51 and 55 substantially seal the refrigerated portion of the cabinet. The lid is easily moved rearwardly by pushing against the surface '27 and is easily pulled forward by gripping flange 33 and lip 25 at the top of the front trim strip.

FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the front trim strip, involving primarily a modification of the hinging of the depending flange and the means for limiting its swinging movement. The trim strip shown in FIG. 5 is designated 3a. Like the strip 3, it comprises a generally channelshape section 13 having a web 15 and spaced upper and lower flanges 17 and 19, with flexible ribs 21 on the inside faces of these flanges. It also has a flange 23 in upward extension of web 15 and a lip 25 on the flange 23. It also has a depending sealing flange 9a, which is of relatively high durometer and relatively rigid, joined to the lower flange 19 of the channel portion of the strip by a relatively soft flexible web 29a. The latter is angled downward from flange 19 toward the rear and joins the flange 9 a in a region spaced from the upper end of flange 9a, which has a hook formation 71. Web 2911 has a low durometer and is relatively soft, resilient and flexible. Flange 19 is formed with a relatively rigid depending lip 73 at its rearward end, this lip being recessed as indicated at 75 on its forward face, and a relatively rigid depending rib 77 extending lengthwise along the bottom of flange 19 immediately rearward of the flexible web 29a. This rib is undercut as indicated at 79 on its rearward side. Flange 9a is adapted to be positioned generally at right angles to flange 19, as shown in solid lines in FIG. 5, with the hook 71 at its upper end hooked into the undercut 79 of rib 77 to limit the rearward swing of flange 9a. It is adapted to be swung to the dotted-line position shown in FIG. 5 by flexing of the web 29a for removal of the lid from the cabinet.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the inventlon, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrated and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A lid for the top of a refrigerated merchandising cabinet, said cabinet having tracks in which the ends of the lid are slidably mounted for sliding movement of the lid from a forward closed position to a rearward open position, said tracks being located above the top of the front of the cabinet, said lid comprising a rectangular pane of glass having a front trim strip along its forward edge and a rear trim strip along its rearward edge, said front trim strip being an extruded plastic strip of such cross section as to have a channel section having a web and flanges, ribs extending longitudinally of the front trim strip on the inside of the flanges of the channel section, a flange extending upward from the top of the channel section constituting a handle for engagement by the hand to slide the lid rearwardly to open it, and a flange extending downward from the bottom of the channel section constituting a sealing flange for engagement with the front of the cabinet on the inside thereof when the lid is closed to seal off the interior of the cabinet, said sealing flange having an integral hinge connection with said channel section, said front trim strip being a dual durometer extrusion wherein said channel section, handle and sealing flange are relatively rigid and said ribs and said hinge connection of said sealing flange and channel section are relatively soft and flexible, said channel section receiving the front edge of said pane and said ribs being flattened over and compressed to retain said front trim strip on said pane, said sealing flange being adapted to be swung forwardly about said flexible hinge connection to a position clearing the top of the front of the cabinet to enable the lid to he slid forward out of the tracks for removal of the lid from the cabinet, said sealing flange having a portion engageable with the channel when the sealing flange is in sealing engagement with the front of the cabinet to limit rearward swing of the sealing flange.

2. A lid as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a relatively soft bumper formed integrally with and depending from said channel adjacent the forward edge of the lid, said bumper, being relatively soft, avoiding injury to the hand if the hand should be caught between the lid and the front wall of the cabinet when the lid is closed.

3. A lid as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rear trim strip is an extruded plastic strip of such cross section as to have a channel section having a web and spaced flanges, a plurality of ribs extending longitudinally of the rear trim strip on the inside of the flanges of the channel section of the rear trim strip, said rear trim strip being a dual durometer extrusion wherein said channel section is relatively rigid and the ribs are relatively soft and flexible, said channel section of said rear strip receiving the rear edge of said pane and the ribs in said rear strip being flattened over and compressed to retain said rear strip on said pane, the channel section of the rear trim strip having a rigid sealing flange projecting therefrom adapted to be located closely adjacent a wall of the cabinet when the lid is in closed position to minimize air movement and entry of insects.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,741,562 12/1929 Faguy 52-171 X 2,316,442 4/1943 Lootens 49-488 X 2,363,848 11/1944 Emmer 129-1 2,747,240 5/ 1956 Peterson 49425 2,773,357 12/1956 Canter 3l2116 X 2,831,553 4/1958 Pollock 52400 2,858,408 10/ 1958 Barroero 62275 X 3,333,381 8/1967 Stark et al. 49-488 X 3,363,3 0 1/1968 Crane et al. 52716 FOREIGN PATENTS 538,531 6/1955 Belgium. 622,038 4/ 1949 Great Britain.

DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner.

US Cl. X.R. 49488; 3 12-116 

